


Burn Out

by markhyuck6_6



Series: Nct Oneshots [7]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And Haechan sets the kitchen on fire again, Haechan burns himself, He just wants some chicken, Hurt Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan-centric, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mark is just worried, Protective Mark Lee (NCT), Soft Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Sweet Mark Lee (NCT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:27:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29361759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markhyuck6_6/pseuds/markhyuck6_6
Summary: Suddenly, a loud sound resonated in the empty dorms. Startled, Haechan’s grip on the piece of chicken dived into the oil, splashing up hot liquid. Not able to move away quickly enough, the oil splashed onto Haechan’s arm.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Everyone, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: Nct Oneshots [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040465
Comments: 1
Kudos: 117





	Burn Out

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this story does not correspond/apply to real life. This is work is fiction and for entertainment purposes and entertainment purposes only. Please understand that I do not mean to antagonize anyone or anything in real life and do not mean any type of offense whatsoever. Also, I am not perfect at writing so please excuse me for any mistakes. I am not an expert in burns, injuries, or medicine so please excuse any inaccurate information.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mentions of a grease fire. Contains bad handling of burns. Vivid description of an infected wound. Please read at your own will.

“Haechannie, I’m going to the other floor! Remember to call us when you’re done making food!” Johnny said.

“Okay!” Haechan yelled. He lost the game so he was the one tasked to cook dinner. The door slammed closed and Haechan got back to work, putting chicken into the pot with boiling oil. He was making chicken from a new recipe that he wanted to try out for a long time.

Suddenly, a loud sound resonated in the empty dorms. Startled, Haechan’s grip on the piece of chicken dived into the oil, splashing up hot liquid. Not able to move away quickly enough, the oil splashed onto Haechan’s left arm.

“Shit! Fuck!” Haechan immediately clutched his arm in pain. Running to the bathroom, he rummaged through the cabinets, searching for bandages while holding his injured arm close to his body. Gritting his teeth, he hissed in frustration and pain when he couldn’t get what he wanted. After flipping through every single cabinet, Haechan finally spotted his saviour. After retrieving the small roll, Haechan pulled out a towel and started turning on the water, cursing that he didn’t do so earlier.

What he didn’t expect was for the water to be hot, someone must have used it recently. He pulled his arm back after the pain intensified and he hurriedly cooled down the water. After rinsing it for ten seconds, Haechan remembered he still had to cook. Quickly bandaging his burn, he tossed on his hoodie and headed back to the kitchen.

When he got there, he smelled smoke. Their smoke alarm broke and still hadn’t been fixed so he didn’t notice that he forgot to turn off the stove! Haechan ran toward the stove to turn it off, but before he got there, the pot went up in flames. Haechan backed away, panicking.

Luckily, the door slammed open and revealed the other members of 127. “Hey! Why does it smell like smoke in here? Haechan! Oh my god!” The yells of the members filled the room when they were met with the sight of a panicking Haechan and a pot on fire. Doyoung and Taeyong quickly got rid of the fire while the other members checked up on the maknae.

“Haechan are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?” Johnny and Mark asked. Haechan nodded his head.

“Yeah… sorry about that. I went to the bathroom and forgot to turn off the stove,” Haechan replied. The other members scolded him but forgave the maknae easily, relieved that he wasn’t hurt.

A while later, the food that they just ordered came and everyone started setting up. Haechan walked over to help, but flinched when his arm brushed the table. Luckily, no one seemed to notice, continuing to mess around with each other.

The group gathered around and started eating. Carefully, Haechan lowered his left arm under the table to avoid any more possibilities of an injury. Bending down, he started eating with one hand, careful not to move his injury and worsen it more. If he gets some weird looks coming from Mark, he ignores it and continues joking with the other members.

The next morning, Haechan woke up to searing hot pain coming from his left arm. He gasped in pain, immediately getting off his arm that he was lying on top of. He reached for the Advil he had conveniently put on his nightstand beside his bed. After downing two pills, he laid back down, waiting for the pill to take effect. After a few minutes, the pain faded away until his entire arm felt numb. Sighing, Haechan got up and got ready for the long day of practice.

~~~

Haechan was sweating. It was only an hour into practice and he was already drenched in sweat. His arm still felt numb and heavy so his dance moves were sloppy. He felt the eyes of his other members.

“Haechan, is your left arm okay? It looks awfully… stiff,” Mark commented, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

Haechan panicked, not knowing what to say. “U-umm, yeah, I’m fine. Just accidentally banged my arm against the door today. Haha…” He laughed awkwardly, brushing off any other questions of concern. Mark nodded, but expression still remained skeptical. Haechan internally groaned, knowing that he didn’t manage to convince his boyfriend. For the rest of practice, he could feel Mark’s eyes on him, following his every move.

By the end of practice, everyone was tired. Heading back to the dorms, Haechan rushed to the bathroom to change his bandages. He looked down at the burn on his arm, noting how it had swelled due to the sweat. The skin was blistering and some of the dead skin was peeling off. Looking around the cabinets, Haechan groaned when he found nothing to help the swelling. With no other option, Haechan wrapped a new bandage around his arm and quickly left the bathroom after disposing of the used bandage.

~~~

Mark looked at his boyfriend in confusion. What was up with him? He was acting really strange that day. First, Haechan was wearing long sleeves, which he would never do in the summer. Then, he was always really cautious of the others which he never is given that they are pretty much family. Finally, his arm. Mark was sure that there was something going on with Haechan’s arm. He was avoiding everything with his left arm, making sure that nothing would touch it and doing everything with his right hand. Also, his arm just looked… heavy. It looked like the maknae was struggling to even raise his arm. 

Heading to the bathroom he saw his boyfriend leaving, Mark thought of all the possibilities but none seemed accurate. Looking at the bathroom, Mark noticed nothing out of place. It was only until he opened the trash when he saw a very large bundle of yellowed bandages. Mark shook his head in worry, what was going on with his boyfriend?

~~~

The next day was similar to the one before. Haechan woke up to pain coming from his burn, took some Advil, went to practice and went home.

He walked into the dorms, clutching his arm in pain. Apparently, two pills of painkillers was not enough for teenagers who loved to tackle each other to the ground. It was after a particularly hard hit from Jeno when the pain started coming back. Luckily, practice had already finished so Haechan was able to bid the Dreamies goodbye before letting his tears of pain flow down.

Going back up to his room, Haechan took two more pills and sighed in relief when he felt the pain subside. Heading toward the kitchen, he found Mark sitting in one of the chairs, scrolling through his phone, most likely Twitter. His boyfriend looked up and sighed in relief. Immediately approaching him, he clutched his arms, frowning when he felt the bandages. “Haechan, what is this? I also happened to find a pile of yellow bandages in the trash in the bathroom the other day. Perhaps these two things are connected? What’s wrong baby?” Haechan breathed heavily, not knowing what to say. 

“U-ummm… it’s manager-nim’s. Yeah! It’s probably manager-nim’s! You know how he accidentally cut himself a few days ago! Yeah, it got infected and it’s probably his bandage!” Haechan stuttered.

“Then why do I feel bandages on your arm?” Mark asked, knowing he hit the jackpot when his boyfriend’s expression became panicked and started stuttering.

“F-fine. I’ll tell you the truth. You know how today I was playing with the Dreamies? Well, we got carried away and I slipped and scraped my arm. It was too big for a band aid so I just went with a bandage. The bandage in the bathroom actually isn’t mine. It’s probably manager-nim’s.” Haechan managed to finish his lie without having his voice wavering. Mark sighed and nodded, satisfied with the explanation. After sharing a quick kiss with the other, he left for his own SuperM schedule.

Haechan sighed in relief as soon as he heard the door close. Heading to his room, he decided to catch up on some rest since idols neer seem to get enough of that.

~~~

Dinner came and the boys on their floor gathered in the dining room. Taking out the leftovers from yesterday, they settled down and started eating. Haechan looked at his own plate filled with food and grimaced. After waking up from his nap, he felt horrible. It was said that rest would make you feel better but that clearly wasn’t the case for Haechan. He woke up feeling really cold and had no appetite. Obviously, he had a fever of some sort but Haechan just brushed it off.

He spooned a few mouthfuls and swallowed harshly but after forcing down the mush down his throat, he immediately pushed his plate away. The other members looked at him as he felt bile crawling up his throat. Leaving the table, he ran for the bathroom, only to collapse beside the sink and throw up what he managed to get down.

Haechan felt a soft hand rubbing on his back. He looked up and saw Johnny giving him a concerned look. Taeyong went to clean the mess while Doyoung went to get the manager.

After making sure that his stomach was completely empty, he rested his head against Johnny who immediately embraced him, rubbing a soothing hand on his back. Taking deep breaths, he leaned against the older, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

“Hyuck, you’re burning,” Johnny murmured. Haechan just hummed in response, not knowing how to reply. He felt himself getting lifted off the ground by the older. A quiet voice was whispering rapidly but he was too tired, only managing to make out “get him… room… sick… tell managers… clear… tomorrow.”

After hearing the words clear and tomorrow, he started struggling. He was not missing any schedules and practices! He was already busy enough, skipping activities in both units to be able to jump between both units! He can’t miss more! “No, not… sick. Can’t skip practice,” he croaked, cracking his eyes open to see Johnny, Doyoung, and Taeyong sharing uncertain glances. 

They laid him down on his bed and Taeyong caressed his face, “You have a fever baby. A pretty high one in fact. No practicing and no schedules tomorrow okay? You need your rest too. Now, go to sleep and tomorrow, we’ll decide who will stay with you to take care of you.” Haechan looked up with bleary eyes and tiredly nodded, not having any more energy to argue. The older members either wrapped around the youngest or watched in sadness as he fell asleep, breathing finally even.

~~~

The next morning, Haechan woke up to not only pain in his arms but also his head. His head was pounding and he felt sweat sticking on his entire body. He looked up, only to meet two soft brown eyes that belonged to his beloved boyfriend. Mark was sitting on his gaming chair, looking at him in concern. Immediately, he handed Haechan a pill and a glass of water. Staring at the hand in front of him, Haechan contemplated how he should tell the other that he currently  _ can’t pick up his left hand _ .

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, frowning when the younger won’t take the medicine. Haechan pouted at him and gave him puppy eyes.

“I’m too tired, feed me…” Haechan whined, pulling his aegyo act on Mark, knowing he would fall for it.

“Okay you big baby,” Mark smiled and helped Haechan take his medicine. After a few moments, Haechan finally felt the pain subside.

“So… where are the others? And why are you here?” Haechan frowned when he didn’t notice Johnny on his bed or any commotion coming from the living room.

“They went to practice. I stayed behind to take care of you since you’re sick,” Mark said.

“Why were you the one who had to stay behind! I’m sick of you and besides, you still have to prepare for the SuperM promotions!” Haechan whined. At that, Mark pouted.

“Hey! I had to literally beg the others to let me take care of you! Now I regret doing all that aegyo just to convince them to let me stay! The disrespect!” Mark huffed, sulking.

“Aww, did Markie do aegyo to take care of me? Don’t worry, of course I appreciate you staying behind and taking care of me! I love you hyungie!” With that, Haechan made a cute expression and Mark blushed, smiling softly.

“I love you too! Now, get some more rest. I’m going to make some breakfast for you,” Mark said, patting Haechan’s head before leaving the room.

“Hey, shouldn’t I be worried that you’re going to poison me to death?” Haechan yelled, scared that Mark was going to either burn down the dorms or put something that’s not supposed to be in food.

“Hey! I’ve been practicing my cooking skills, thank you very much!” Mark yelled back indignantly. Haechan just rolled his eyes, getting out of bed to make sure Mark doesn’t mess anything up. He gasped when his arm brushed his mattress. He didn’t take his painkillers yet. Picking up the pill bottle, he frowned when it was empty. Turning around to get another bottle in the bathroom, he swung his arm which hit the nightstand. The impact sent a shock of pain up his entire arm. He clutched his arm, unable to focus on anything else other than the searing pain coming from his now swollen wound. Feeling the world spinning, Haechan tried to regain balance by resting his hand on the bed but before he knew it, everything went black.

“Haechan? You okay there?” Mark asked when he heard a thump coming from the other’s room. When no response came, he panicked. Turning off the stove that had a surprisingly not burnt egg, Mark ran into the room, only to find Haechan collapsed on the floor. Luckily, thinking sensibly, Mark first took out his phone to call the ambulance. Then, he proceeded to call the managers and the group. Tears streamed down his face, seeing his boyfriend sprawled across the floor.

Kneeling in front of his boyfriend, he picked up his head and laid it down onto his lap. Tapping his finger impatiently, he waited for Taeyong to pick up his phone. “Hello? Mark? How’s Haechan? Mark?”

“Hyung… Haechan… he fainted. I don’t know why though please come!” Mark sobbed into his hands, trying to think of why his boyfriend was in the state he’s in.

“Okay, calm down Mark. I’m coming with the others. Call the ambulance. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Taeyong’s already breathless voice sounded from the phone. Mark nodded, choking out an “okay” when he remembered Taeyong can’t see him. After hanging up, Mark hugged Haechan’s body close to him, praying that he’ll be alright.

A few minutes later, the door to the dorms slammed open and the whole group piled into the room with the medics and manager on their heels. They all gasped at the sight of their maknae lying in Mark’s embrace. The boy’s face was pale and ashy, sweat sticking to all parts of his body. Hurriedly, the paramedics carried the boy into a stretcher and pulled him away.

Only Mark and Taeyong were allowed into the ambulance. Everyone else piled into the vans and followed the car to the hospital.

In the vehicle, the doctors were undressing the young vocalist. Taeyong and Mark gasped when they saw the white bandage that was covered in yellow pus. Carefully, the doctors unwrapped the bandage, revealing the cause of all the chaos that was currently happening. The boy’s entire forearm was bright red, burn now swelled up like a balloon. Dead skin was peeling off his arm and new skin was trying to grow back. Yellow pus were oozing out of the freshly opened blisters, while dried pus coated around some others. The doctors grimaced and quickly got to work, trying to stop the bleeding and disinfecting the wound.

~~~

Johnny looked at the ambulance in front of them, trying to figure out what was happening inside. His mind was still running with all the possibilities of what happened with their maknae. Was it from yesterday’s fever? No, he took the medicine, it couldn’t have gotten worse. Then what? Johnny thought hard, but still, his mind drew a blank.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up and met eyes with Taeil. “Hey, calm down, your worry and frustration isn’t helping anyone.” Johnny looked around at the rest of the people in the car. Jaehyun and Doyoung were talking in hushed whispers and Yuta was busy comforting a crying Jungwoo while checking his phone every now and then to see if there were any updates. Their manager was sitting in the passenger seat, taking multiple phone calls and typing frantically on his phone.

Johnny sighed and looked down, “Yeah, yeah okay.” Smiling, Taeil raised his arms to pinch his cheeks. Dodging the attack, Johnny slapped the older’s hands from his face. Taeil clutched his arms and pouted. Johnny frowned, something about the older felt familiar, like deja vu.

_ “Hey Haechan! Get my phone for me!” Johnny said from his bed, eyes glued to his laptop. _

_ “On it!” _

_ “Thanks,” Johnny said, reaching out for his phone, only to find nothing in front of him. He looked over to find the younger clutching his arm with a pout on his face. “Haechan?” _

_ Haechan looked at Johnny like a deer caught in headlights. He immediately whipped his left arm behind him and handed the phone to the older. Johnny turned his attention back to his laptop, shrugging off the odd behaviour of the other. _

Johnny gasped in recognition. That was a few days ago. The more he thought about it, the more he noticed how stiff Haechan’s left arm was in recent days. Something is going on, but what?

The van came to a sudden halt and the members snapped out of their respective states and all ran down the van, running all the way into the hospital, demanding to see the other. That’s when a pale white Taeyong walked in, holding onto Mark, who was still shaking and recovering from the shock. Everyone rushed over to the pair, asking about Haechan’s condition.

“H-He’s injured. On h-h-his arm. The d-d-doctors s-said it was a third degree burn. It’s really bad a-and it g-got infected,” The leader sobbed. Gasps of horror were heard and Jaehyun quickly ran to comfort the older. Jungwoo started sobbing again and this time, Yuta held on with tears of his own.

A doctor was seen walking toward them and they quickly composed themselves. “So, I assume you guys are here for Mr. Lee?” The group nodded in confirmation, allowing the doctor to continue. “Mr. Lee has a third degree burn that we assume came from hot oil. It was never cleaned properly so it led to infection which led to his fever. We also noticed that he was taking painkillers, more than he was supposed to. We suspect that this may have also contributed to the fever. The over dosage on the painkillers also led to numbing on the left arm, so his arm cut off some of its blood flow, preventing his arm from getting essential nutrients. The side effects may go down in a day or two, but the injury is really severe so we suggest that Mr. Lee should take a break for at least a month and then see how things go. Mr. Lee will awake shortly so you can wait in the waiting room and we will call you when he is conscious.” 

The members thanked the doctor and sat back down in their seats, dumbfounded. They all noticed something was up, but they all just thought the maknae was dealing with the after effects of all the schedules he had to take part in. Soon enough, the doctors snapped everyone from their own thoughts and said that Haechan was awake. Everyone hurriedly stood up and ran toward the direction the doctor pointed to.

They bursted into the room to find Haechan sporting a weak smile with his arm wrapped in bright, white bandages that contrasted with his dark skin tone. There was a moment of silence before the group enveloped the youngest in hugs and angry but worried scoldings. Most members had tears in their eyes as they yelled at him for his carelessness.

Haechan looked at his members’ angry eyes and pouted. He never wanted to worry them. He only hid his injury because he didn’t want to become the bruden, now, he succeeded in becoming a useless rock that is weighing everyone down. At those thoughts, tears started pooling at the corners of his eyes. Everyone immediately panicked at the sight and Mark started rambling about how no one was angry at him, just worried. Everyone nodded along to his boyfriend’s words and started comforting him. Haechan looked up and pouted even more. “I’m not crying cuz you’re yelling at me. I just didn’t want to become a burden and now I failed…”

“Oh Haechannie… you know you’ll never be a burden right? Now, what you did wasn’t right and you shouldn’t have hid this from us, but you’ll never feel like a burden to us okay? Next time though, you better tell us when you get injured,” Mark said softly, giving the younger a pointed look. Haechan looked back and just nodded. Mark smiled and kissed him softly. Haechan gave back a lazy smile and yawned tiredly. Taeyong and Mark sat on either side of the boy and pet his hair, smiling when he finally fell asleep. The group all stares at the sleeping maknae and vows to pay more attention and never let this happen ever again… and maybe never let him fry chicken ever again.


End file.
